Treating Addiction: Perspectives from EEG and Imaging Studies on Psychedelics
This book chapter (2016) reviews the evidence regarding the effects of psychedelics on the brain and their potential as treatments for psychiatric and addictive disorders.
Authors
- Luiz Tófoli
- Draulio Araújo
Published
Abstract
Despite reports of apparent benefits, social and political pressure beginning in the late 1960s effectively banned scientific inquiry into psychedelic substances. Covert examination of psychedelics persisted through the 1990s; the turn of the century and especially the past 10 years, however, has seen a resurgent interest in psychedelic substances (eg, LSD, ayahuasca, psilocybin). This chapter outlines relevant EEG and brain imaging studies evaluating the effects of psychedelics on the brain. This chapter also reviews evidence of the use of psychedelics as adjunct therapy for a number of psychiatric and addictive disorders. In particular, psychedelics appear to have efficacy in treating depression and alcohol-use disorders.
Research Summary of 'Treating Addiction: Perspectives from EEG and Imaging Studies on Psychedelics'
Introduction
Classic or serotonergic psychedelics (for example, psilocybin, LSD, mescaline, and the DMT-containing brew ayahuasca) produce profound alterations of perception, cognition and affect and have been used in ritual contexts for centuries. Although the pharmacology of individual compounds varies, these agents commonly act at serotonin 5HT2A receptors and can induce experiences ranging from enhanced imagery and introspection to mystical-type states. Interest in their clinical potential has resurged after decades of restricted research, with accumulating evidence suggesting therapeutic effects in depression and some substance-use disorders. Tófoli and colleagues set out to (1) review EEG, MEG, PET, SPECT and fMRI studies that have investigated the acute brain effects of classic psychedelics in humans, and (2) discuss the emerging evidence for their use as adjunctive treatments for addiction. The chapter emphasises findings from human neurophysiology and neuroimaging and considers possible neurobiological mechanisms that might underlie clinical effects.
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Tófoli, L., & de Araujo, D. (2016). Treating Addiction: Perspectives from EEG and Imaging Studies on Psychedelics. International Review of Neurobiology, 157-185. https://doi.org/10.1016/bs.irn.2016.06.005
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